Victim tells state broadcaster how his own recorded “yes” was used by fraudsters posing as utility company staff to try to reach his 14-year-old daughter alone at home
Greek police have issued a warning over a new form of telephone fraud in which criminals record and digitally manipulate victims’ voices, after a father described to state broadcaster ERT how the scam was used in an attempt to target his teenage daughter.
Konstantia Dimoglidou, spokeswoman for the Hellenic Police, told ERT that the method had already been documented by police, who have made arrests in connection with a criminal group believed to have used the technique.
A member of the public who gave his name as Socrates described to the programme how the scam unfolded. He said it began when he received a phone call while at a shop near his home; the caller asked if he was speaking to “Mr Socrates,” he confirmed he was, and the call then ended abruptly. A short time later he received a second call from the same number, in which the callers referred to him by a different name, apparently to verify his identity. When he said that was not his name, he hung up, later concluding that the calls had likely been an attempt to confirm his phone number and gather identifying information.
Around ten minutes later, on returning home, he found his 14-year-old daughter on the phone, taking notes. She told him she had received repeated calls on the family’s landline from people claiming to represent the electricity distribution network operator, ΔΕΔΔΗΕ, who told her there was an urgent problem with the property’s power supply. The callers reportedly asked her to hand the phone to her father so they could discuss the supposed issue directly.
According to the complaint, the callers went further, asking the girl whether anyone else was in the house and whether the family had a pet; she told them she was alone and that they had a cat. The callers then asked to put the call with her father on speakerphone.
